Please, Todd, Stay in the Race!

Published by rachel on Tue, 08/21/2012 - 3:29pm

While "establishment" Republican party leaders are calling for Missouri senatorial candidate Todd Akin to step aside in the wake of his ridiculous assertion that women can't get pregnant from "legitmate" rape, the Tea Bagger from the Show-Me state is holding firm. And, really, why should he grovel before his party bosses and quit? After all, his harsh position on reproductive rights is 100 percent consistent with the Republican party line. It's exactly the same as Paul Ryan's, for instance, and identical to the draft abortion plank in the GOP party platform, which calls for a constitutional amendment banning all abortions, with no exceptions for rape or incest.

Akin himself says he "misspoke," that old stand-by when frank language accidently pokes through the spin meant to cover it up. But did he? It wasn't too long ago that Akin's Republican colleagues were trying to re-define rape itself, narrowing to only "forcible rape" the type of assault for which insurance would cover abortion. "Forcible" rape, "legitimate" rape -- is there such a big distinction? And Akin's not the only one -- Rep. Steve King, the type of fringe conservative who now represents the party's mainstream, said he'd never heard of an instance where victims of statutory rape or incest could become pregnant, either,

So there you have it, ladies -- today's Republican Party. Let's hope Akin stays in the race and becomes the poster child he deserves to be, representing what the GOP really thinks about women.